Other Briefings
China’s African Odyssey
By Andy Scott Part One: The Oilmen Cometh I couldn’t help asking him once what he meant by coming there at all. “To make money, of course. What do you think?” he said, scornfully. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness. Foreign governments have been attracted to Africa for more than two centuries, greedily pursuing the continents’ […]
Has China’s economic development hit a glass ceiling?
Commentary: Lack of stock market transparency, the one-party state and why Chinese companies are struggling overseas By Chris Devonshire-Ellis On the face of it, much in China over the past 20 years has appeared to be a pretty incredible success story. Other developing nations, from India to South America, Africa and elsewhere in Asia have all […]
China’s booming economy rises 11.9%
China’s economy expanded 11.9 percent in the second quarter according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics yesterday. The gross domestic product hit RMB10.68 trillion (US$1.39 trillion) in the first six months of the year, growing 0.5 percentage points higher than a year ago. China Daily reported that the “blistering” GDP is growing […]
Beijing airport to open third runway in October
Beijing Capital International Airport is set to expand its take-off and landing capacity by 50 percent in October when it begins trial operations of its third runway. The RMB200 million runway will raise capacity at the airport from 30 to 90 flights per day according to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). The […]
AirAsia launches cheap flights to Shenzhen
AirAsia launched its Shenzhen service today with nonstop flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the first routes into mainland China for the Malaysia-based budget airline founded in 1993. Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Tony Fernandes Berhad of AirAsia said, “We have continued to create history by introducing flights to untapped markets as we have always […]
Doors close on Starbucks’ controversial Forbidden City outlet
There will be no more Frappaccinos or lattés in the Forbidden City as Starbucks closed down its controversial outlet situated inside the former imperial palace on Friday. The closure brought an end to a seven-year presence that sparked controversy and protests that the image and cultural heritage of the historical site was being trampled on by the […]
2.6 million join China’s Communist Party
Workers of the world China unite! Xinhua reported that approximately 2.64 million people joined the Communist Party last year. That is 160,000 more people than the previous year, according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. To put that into perspective, that figure represents the entire population of the state of Utah in the […]
Shanghai to open three new metro lines by end of year
Shanghai will open three new metro lines by the end of the year, extending the total distance of the network to 230 kilometers authorities at the city subway’s construction headquarters announced. Metro Line 6 will run south to north in Pudong, Metro Line 8 links Yangpu District with many downtown stops, and Metro Line 9 links Xuhui […]
